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Posted: 25-04-2011 21:09 Post subject:

As an aside, I also use adbock, do not read newspapers, do not watch TV (as such) and do not listen to comercial radio. I only read 1 magazine (FT). My advert loading is VERY low...the chances of me reacting to an advert are, as far a I can tell, pretty much nil.

Posted: 25-04-2011 22:04 Post subject:

Is there any way they could tell if your watching live tv on the internet?

Posted: 26-04-2011 05:38 Post subject:

Yes. Check the number of connections to the website, and track the connected IP addresses, and resolve to the MAC address of the connected hardware.

They can at least get it down to the ISP, who can then trace it to you.

Sure, there are ways of obscuring that information, but how many people bother?

Posted: 26-04-2011 08:38 Post subject:

Posted: 22-08-2013 10:18 Post subject:

TV licence offences account for one in ten UK court cases
The BBC was responsible for more than one in ten criminal prosecutions last year as the number of people taken to court for non payment of their television licence reached a new high. Shocked

Martin Evans, Crime Correspondent
6:00AM BST 22 Aug 2013

More than 180,000 people – almost 3,500 a week – appeared before the Magistrates Courts, accused of watching television without a valid £145.50 licence.
The figure has been steadily rising as TV Licensing, which is responsible for catching and prosecuting non payers, improves its ability to identify those responsible and becomes more determined in its approach.

But with Magistrates handling a total of 1.48 million cases last year, it means that around 12 per cent of their workload is now being made up of TV licensing offences.
The rise in prosecutions also comes against the backdrop of the BBC executive pay-off scandal, which saw the Corporation pay £60 million in severance deals – enough to pay more than 412,000 licences.

Anyone who watches television as it is being broadcast must have a valid television licence for their home regardless of whether they watch it on the internet or on a traditional TV set.
However it is possible to claim an exemption if you can demonstrate that you only watch television programmes via the various catch up systems available on the internet, such as the BBC’s iPlayer.

Last year a total of 155,000 people were convicted of not having a valid licence and received a fine as a result.
But unlike the non-payment of utility bills and parking tickets which are treated as civil matters, those who refuse to pay the television licence receive a criminal record.

The maximum penalty for non-payment is a £1,000 fine, but anyone who refuses to pay, or is unable to pay the fine can end up in prison.
In recent years at least 70 people have been jailed for non-payment of fines associated with TV licensing offences.

There are now growing calls for TV licensing issues to be dealt with as civil prosecutions in order to free up the courts to handle more serious matters.
Lord Pearson, the UKIP leader in the House of Lords is sponsoring a bill to decriminalise the non-payment of the licence fee.
He said: “It is outrageous that so many people are brought in to the criminal justice system through this means. I believe that non payment should be treated in the way that parking tickets are. It is absurd that the courts are being clogged up by such a minor offence.”

While BBC services remain popular with millions of TV viewers and radio listeners, there is mounting anger over the cost of the licence measured against financial waste at the Corporation.

Tory MP Steve Barclay, who is a member of the Public Accounts Select Committee, which has closely scrutinised spending at the BBC, said: “It is interesting to look at these figures against the backdrop of the recent vast pay offs made to BBC executives.
“The average pay-off was in excess of £164,000, with some executives getting more than £1 million in severance deals. Meanwhile you have hard working people being taken to court and given criminal records for non payment of their licence fee.”

A spokesman for TV Licensing said: “We have a duty to enforce the law on behalf of the 95 per cent of people who pay. TV Licence evasion cases take up a small proportion of court time as they are dealt with in bulk in dedicated sessions and very few people attend court.

“When we visit an unlicensed property, a statement is taken from any responsible adult our Enquiry Officer speaks to and it is that person who becomes liable to face prosecution for evading the licence fee.”

Regarding the number of people who now watch television via the internet on catch up channels, the spokesman added: “Well under 2 per cent of adults only consume catch up TV in a typical week, although over the course of a year may watch some live TV and therefore still need a licence.”

But the growing backlash against the licence fee has also been fuelled by various scandals at the Corporation, including the revelations over the Jimmy Savile sex abuse cover up.

In 2010, Charles Moore, the former editor of The Daily Telegraph was ordered to pay £807 in fines and costs after refusing to pay his television licence on a point of principle.
Mr Moore had accused the BBC of a “gross violation of its charter”, by broadcasting obscene phone calls made by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand to the former Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.

He informed the TV Licensing Authority of his intention not to pay his licence until the BBC terminated the contract of Jonathan Ross, who at the time was one of the Corporation’s most highly paid stars.
Appearing at Hastings Magistrates’ Court Mr Moore explained that he had informed the authorities of his intention not to pay the licence fee so there was no question of evasion.

But the Magistrate said it was not for the court to decide whether the BBC had broken its charter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10256679/TV-licence-offences-account-for-one-in-ten-UK-court-cases.html

Posted: 22-08-2013 11:15 Post subject:

Posted: 22-08-2013 12:54 Post subject:

The Telegraph article is an all-purpose anti-BBC rant but the court statistic surprised me. Earlier this year, I heard a BBC twonk deny that there was any significant increase in licence refuseniks, despite the popularity of websites which expose the fibs of the enforcers.

I dare say there are plenty of nerds with brazen satellite dishes who gurn at their wall-sized tvs in a front room at full volume . . .

They have got it coming, I suppose. The focus of such stories used to be the gender inequality of a system which criminalised so many single mothers. Since the Telegraph piece seems to originate in a press release by TV Licensing to trumpet their efficiency, that aspect is ignored. Actually that may have made their readers smack thier lips all the more! Rolling Eyes

Posted: 03-09-2013 13:25 Post subject:

I haven't had a license for years, i do have a TV, but it is only used for DVDs, i have no aerial outside or attached to the TV, i have had inspectors out and they have been satisfied with this fact and said we will contact you again in a couple of years.
I would like to know how we stand when we have a computer and how we can prove if we do not watch TV on it, which i dont, anyone know?.

Posted: 03-09-2013 13:36 Post subject:

Posted: 03-09-2013 13:47 Post subject:

I don't doubt that many of the licence inspectors are officious busybodies using questionable tactics to gain access to people's properties. And they are very annoying to the small minority who don't have a TV.

That said, I deeply dislike the something for nothing culture, whether it's tax evaders, fare dodgers or music/film pirates. The licence fee is intended to fund good quality non-commerical broadcasting. It doesn't always live up to its mission but the UK would be much poorer without it. If you've got a TV pay your licence fee.

Posted: 03-09-2013 16:10 Post subject:

My understanding is that the licence fee doesn't grant permission to watch TV programmes - it's a licence you need when you possess equipment capable of doing so. With PCs, there is no longer a fine line as you can watch I Player...and of course consoles like the Playstation and XBox will stream TV programmes and online movies too.

Posted: 03-09-2013 16:47 Post subject:

Quite right. It's a TV tax, not a subscription.

Posted: 03-09-2013 17:52 Post subject:

Posted: 03-09-2013 18:29 Post subject:

Relax! Nobody has ever been taken to court on the strength of their mysterious technology. You have nothing to fear. Read through this thread and some of the sites devoted to the subject.

Some of those sites do seem to attract folk who are just goading the twonks. I have no sympathy with people who lack the courage to ditch the box as well as the licence! Smile

Posted: 03-09-2013 19:03 Post subject:

That's it. If I ever form a band I'm calling it "goading the twonks". Laughing